Apparatus for producing individual masses of ice



NOV. 9, 1937. B, T, MULCH 2,098,753

APPARATUS FOR PRODUGING INDIVIDUAL MAssEs 0F ICE Filed Deo. 19, 1955 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 lII- liz woooooodoooooooo ooooowooocoooooo O@ Ji s@ La@ f.. H

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APPARATUS FOR PRODUCING INDIVIDUAL MASSES OF ICE INV ENTOR Patented Nov. 9, 1937 APPARATUS ron MA PBODUCING INDIVIDUAL SSES F ICE Balthazar n. T. Mulch, Westwood, N. J.

Application December 19, 1935, Serial No. 55,146

16 Claims.

My invention relates to automatic refrigerators, and more particularly to apparatus for producing individual masses of ice in such refrigerators, especially for use in hotels, homes, etc.

In the household refrigerators now in general use the cooling coil is generally so constructed as to provide a freezing compartment withinl which metal or rubber trays filled with water may be inserted for theproduction of ice cubes. To obtain the individual cubes the trays must be placed under the faucet and water allowed to play thereover until the'ice is loosened from the tray. This must be done even when trays of rubber are employed, in spite of the fact that ice does not cling strongly to rubber, for when the trays have remained a long time in the freezing compartment, incrustations of ice are formed around the edges of the trays and operate to lock the ice cubes to the trays. It is thus frequently 0 quite difcult to separate the cubes from the trays, and, as is well known, much difficulty is often encountered in removing the trays from the freezing compartment due to the deposition of frost within the spaces between the tray and the walls of the freezing compartment, such frost operating to weld the trays to the compartment. When this happens, resort Ais often had to a screw driver or similar implement which is inserted between the tray and the wall of the freezing compartment, a procedure which involves the danger of breaking parts of the apparatus.

According to the present invention, it is proposed to provide an improved ice-freezing mechanism by the aid of which individual masses of ice can be formed within the freezing compartment and dischargedl into an easily accessible hopper in a very simple and convenient manner. The mechanism may be power or hand-operated, and in the latter case a handle ymember may be arranged so as to be conveniently engageable outside o-f the freezing compartment or even upon the outside of the refrigerator, in 'which case the necessity of opening the door of the refrigerator is avoided.

The present invention contemplates the provision of endless conveyor means provided with cup-shaped buckets of rubber or rubber-like material which pass through a tank of water where-- in they become automatically filled, cups on opposite conveyors being brought into registry and forced into sealing engagement with the aid of an automatically produced partial vacuum. These water-filled, sealed double cups then pass through the refrigerating space where the water is frozen. The conveyors then separate at the upper limit of their run and the frozen bodies of ice are then ejected into a trough, which terminates in a collecting hopper at the outside of the freezing compartment or of the refrigerator.

The invention also contemplates the use of (ci. iz-1085) forms of elastic material which may be manually filled with water and placed in thel freezing compartment to produce frozen bodies of ice of novel form. These ice molds may, for example, be composed of two hollow semi-spherical rubber cups, much like the buckets of the conveyor means referred to above, which are filled under water and then brought into sealing engagement at their edges, the two halves being slightly compressed at portions remote from the inter-engaging edges as they are filled. Upon release of pressure, it will be found that the two semi-spherical halves oi the mold areheld in sealing engagement with each other by the partial vacuum created by the release of pressure. These water-lled molds are then placed in the freezing compartment. The expansion of ice during the freezing generally forces the two halves of the mold into their original non-pinched condition and the rubber mold section can then be readily separated from the frozen ball of ice.

The invention will be further described with the aid of the accompanying drawings wherein several embodiments of the invention are illustrated by way of example. Inv said drawings,

Fig. 1 is a vertical section, partially in elevation, of an ice-forming mechanism constructed in accordance with the invention;

Fig. 2 is a similar section' taken at right angles .to the plane of Fig. 1 along the line 2-2 of the latter;

Fig. 3 shows an enlarged detail illustrating the construction of the elastic cups forming part of the conveyors;

Fig. 4 shows a section of an ice mold adapted to be manually filled with water and placed within the freezing compartment of a refrigerator;

Fig. 5 is a View of another embodiment of the invention, likewise in the form of an individual mold; while Fig. 6 illustrates the mold of Fig. 5 lled with water and ready for placement within the refrigerator.

The apparatus shown in Figs. 1, 2 and 3 may be incorporated in any typev of refrigerator, whether electric or gas operated, the only important modification over the present constructions being in the arrangement of the expansion coils and in the absence of the customary ice cube trays. In accordance with the form of the invention illustrated in Figs. 1 to 3, the evaporator coils, which are shown diagrammatically at I0, are so disposed as to provide an interior freezing compartment Il which is surrounded by such coils and is accordingly subjected to a lov;r temperature, that is, a freezing temperature, during the normal operation of the refrigerator. 'I'he evaporator coils may be housed within a casing l2 which is supported in any suitable fashion within the refrigerator.

`Attachedtothecasing|2 i.satank Il whichis `adapted to contain a body of water for use in the ber or other insulating material to the endthat the water in the tank Il @protected against the extreme cold in the compartment Il and thus kept from freeaing. Y l

Two pairs of vertically aligned wheels or drums I9, 2l and 2|, 22 are journaled within the compartment Il and tank Il, the shafts Ila and 2|a of the wheels Il and 2|. respectively, being supported upon brackets 22 and 24- depending from the inner upper wall 2l of the expansion coil casing, and upon trunnions 23a welded or otherwise secured to the inner wall of the casing i2 (Fig. 2); while shafts 20a and 22a of the wheels 2l and 22 are supported upon brackets 28 and 21, respectively. depending from the cover plate il of the tank Il. The wheels are in the form of hollow drums of sheet metal or other suitable material. v

In the illustrated embodiment of the invention .shown in Figs. 1 and 2, the wheel 22 is adapted to be rotated in step-by-step fashion by means of a lever 2l loosely pivoted upon the shaft 22a and having a handle 2l which can be engaged through the aperture Il in the front wall Il of the casing I2. The lever 2l is provided with a pawl which cooperates with' a ratchet wheel 23 ilxed to the shaft 22a and likewise to the wheel 22, so that upon reciprocation of thelever 2l, the wheel 22 is rotated intermittently in one direction.l A gear 34 is fixed to the wheel 22 and meshes with a gear 3l attached to the wheel 20, the two gears being of equal diameter, so that an equal and opposite movement is transmitted to the wheel 20.`

An endless belt is roved about each of the pairs of wheels I9, 20 and 2|, 22, the belt consisting of ya web 2l of rubber or other suitable flexible material within which are embedded or to which are attached horizontal rows, of hollow. preferably semi-spherical pockets or cups Il. When the web It and cups Il are made of the same material, such as rubber, they may be fashioned or molded integrally, as will be clear from Fig. 3. 'Ihe horizontal rows of ycups are positioned at equally spaced intervals upon the two belts 36 and the belts are so arranged with reference to each other that as they round the lower sprockets 2l and 22 the cup-shaped pockets 21 oi' the adjacent runs of the belts come into augment and engage each' other at their outer circumferential edges, as is clearly shown in Figs. 1 and 3.

The wheels or drums I! and 2| are provided with recesses Il shaped to receive the spherical cups or pockets 21, while the lower wheels 2 0 and 22 are provided with recesses ll, which, while also adapted to receive the cups 21 are provided with raised bosses or knobs C., for a, purpose which will be described more fully hereinbelow.

In the operation of the mechanism so far described, oscillation of the lever 28 will cause equal and opposite rotation of the and thus also of the -two endless belts 36. As each of the cups 21 enters the body of water in the tank Il, it gradually illls withfwater and moves into a recess 20 of the corresponding wheels. During its subsequent movement the rubber cup 31 is pressed with greater and greater force against the bottom of the recess 39 and thus becomes depressed inwardly in the manner shown at 4i in Fig. 3. This depression causes expulsion the contents of the molds as the wheels 20 and 22' aoaavss of am bubbles of air that may have clung to the interior surface of the cup and at the same time places the bottom of the pocket under tension.

As the opposite cups on the two belts move upwardly between the two wheels 20 and 22, as indicated at 42, they are brought into gradualengagement and by the time they reachA a position on the line Joining the axes of the shafts 20a and 22a, as shown at 4I in Fig. 1, the upper portion of their abutting edges have been brought into close engagement and rupon` an additional 4slight upward movement the lower edges are likewise brought into engagement. Thereafter the pressure of the bosses 40 against the central portions of the cups is released and the interengaged cups, now joined into substantially spherical molds, with depressed opposite poles, tend to assume the' completely spherical condi,- tion, but succeed in doing so only partially, there being created at the same time a relative vacuum within the molds which enables the external atmospheric pressure to hold the two halves of each mold tightly in engagement with each other. 'Ihe water-filled molds now travel upwardly or remain within the freezing compartment Il, and due to the refrigerating action of the coils l2,

lthe water gradually freezes.

'I'he expansion caused by the freezing is taken up eitherv by the expansion of the mold to the more nearly completely spherical conditions or by separation of the two halves of the mold. This separation, however, will not cause any loss of water is by that time in solid condition.

As the two-part molds reach a position shown at I4 upon a line connecting the axes Isa and 2Ia they are forced apart as each conveyor run beginsv to round its own wheel. The almost spherical mass of ice will now be loosened from one or the other semi-spherical pocket and will move around either the sprocket I9 or the sprocket 2|.

Means are provided in accordance with the invention -for ejecting the frozen ball of ice from the cups on the two belts. In the embodiment of the invention shown in Figs. 1 to 3, this ejector means comprises hook members 45 and 48 loosely pivoted upon brackets 41 and 48, respectively, which depend from the inner wall 25 of the expansion coil casing. The relatively sharp free' ends of the hook members are positioned so as to engage the balls of ice, shown for example at 49, as they turn into thevertical outer runs of the respective conveyors. 'I'he ejected balls of ice are caught within troughs 50 and 5I which direct them into a common hopper 52 opening towardthe exterior of the casing IQ. The front wall 3l of the casing Ill is provided with a door 53 which may be raised by means of a handle llto permit the discharged balls of ice to be removed, the door being held in lowered, closed position by means of a spring detent I. Y

The troughs 50 may be arranged so close to the conveyor belts that ifa hook fails to eject a ball of ice, the latter will engage and be ejected by the inner edge of the adjacent trough.

As shown clearly in Fig. 2, each of the webs 26 is provided with four cups in each horizontal row. It will, of course, be obvious that any number of cups or pockets may be `arranged in each row and a corresponding number of ejector hooks l5 will be provided. y

If desired, a hood 56 maybe provided over each of the wheels I9 and 2| in order to reduce evaporation of the ice balls as much as possible. The outer ends of these hoods may act as stops n and win return t the tank n by wayy or the limiting the inward movementof the hooks Il and 43 as indicated at 51, to prevent damage to the webs or the edges Il ofthe pockets 31.

The thickened outer edges "of the cups may be provided with annular recesses of semi-circular cross-section, as shown at 53a, the recesses of opposite cups on the adjacent runs of the two A belts being adapted to be brought into alignment as the cups move .upwardly between the wheels and 22. 'I'he latter are so positioned relatively to each other that' they exert a slight pressure upon the thickened edges 53, thereby compressing-the walls of the torus-like recess 58a formed by the fitting together of two opposite cups, thereby expelling a part of the water. Upon release of the joined cups from the wheels 20 and 22 the walls of the torus-like recess will tend to expand to their normal condition and will thereby create a partial. vacuum within such recess. 'I'his vacuum may be suillcient to hold the two halves of the mold together and the depression of the outer ends of the two-cup mold may accordingly be dispensed with. I prefer, however, to utilize both the compression of the thickened edges of the two cups and also the depression of the opposite ends of the two cups to create a sufilciently high vacuum to cause the two parts of the mold to cling to each other in water-tight relation as illustrated in Fig. 3.

It will, of course, be necessary to insure that the water in the tank I3 does not freeze. To this end it may be insulated against the cold in the compartment II in any suitable fashion as by means of the sheet I8 of rubber or similar material. This insulation may be aided by making the apertures i5, I3 and I1, through which different runs of the two belts travel, as small as possible and the cover I8 of rubber or other insulating material may be made to overlap these openings, as shown in Fig. l, the rubber or other flexible sheet yielding as a pocket moves into or out of the tank I3. The coils Ill of the evaporator will be suitably disposed to prevent freezing ofthe water in tank I3.

If desired, certain of the coils I0 may be positioned within the space between the runs of each belt so as to produce a greater refrigerating effect upon the ice molds. The temperature of the water in the tank I3 should, however, be kept at least several degrees above 32 F.

The edges of the sheet I8 overlying the aperture I6 may engage the emerging cups and thus exert a wiping action thereon to remove water clinging thereto.

Any suitable gauge device may be provided to indicate the level of the water in the tank I3. This level should always be maintained above the height of the shafts 20a and 22a.v This gauge may take the form of a water charging spout 60 which extends forwardly of the front wall of the tank and communicates with the interior thereof, the bottom of such spout being approximately at thelowest permissible level of water in the tank. The absence of water in the spout 60 will indicate that the tank must be replenished.

The webs 3G will, of course, be' wet as they emerge from the opening I6 and any water that does not run back into the tank I3 will become frozen within the space II. There will not, however, be any accumulation-of ice upon these webs because any ice crust thereon will be melted away when the webs reenter the tank I3.

Should a mold reach the position indicated at M before the water is frozen, no damage will result as the water will merely run down the belts -use of ice molds of the type shown in Figs. 1 to 3 opening I3. If after several reciprocations of the lever 2l no ice balls appear at the hopper I2, it will bea signal to the householder either that the refrigerator is not operating properly or that he is overtaxing the capacity of the freezing mechanism.

The present invention also contemplates the for use individually in refrigerators'of present day construction. The mold consists of two halves 6| and 32 (Fig. 4) made of rubber or other suitable'resilient material, the molds being preferably provided with thickened edges as shown'at 83 to insure water-tight engagement. 'I'he molds are lled under water, fitted together, and then depressed at their opposite ends as indicated at 6I. Upon removal -of the molds from the water and release of pressure thereon a partial vacuum will be created within the molds to an extent sumcient to hold the two halves together in water-tight relation. The molds can. then be placed within the freezing compartment of the refrigerator and after freezing of the water the mold can be readily separated from the ball of ice. In this way individual masses of ice of novel shape can readily be produced. It will be obvious that by providing suitable llets within the mold, different shapes can be imparted to the frozen mass of ice.

Figs. 5 and 6 illustrate an individual mold constructed similarly to the cups pockets shown in Figs. l to 3, the mold consisting of two halves 65 and 6B which may be constructed and manipulated similarly to the molds shown in Fig. 4 except that the meeting edges are flanged, as shown at 6l, and provided with annular recesses 88 of semicircular cross-section. By pinching the joined edges @l and 68 while under water, enough water can be expelled to cause the partial vacuum within the torus-like chamber formed by the two recesses 58 to hold the edges in water-tight relation. This vacuum may, however, be supplemented by a vacuum within the interior of the mold created by depressing, under water, the opposite ends of the mold, as shown in Fig. 6.

It will be understood that various changes in the size and relationship of parts may be made in the forms of the invention illustrated within the scope of the appended claims without departing from the spirit of the invention. Thus, while the conveyor mechanism. has been described as being manually operated, it will be obvious that it may be operated also by means of an electric motor to which it may be coupled by way of a reduction gearing. Also fewer or more than four cups may be arranged in each horizontal row on the belts 36, and the latter need not be in the form of continuous webs, but may be replaced by chains. The handle 29 may extend through the opening 30 and may, in fact, together with the hopper 52, extend to the outside of the refriger-` ator, or else the rockshaft to which the handle is attached may extend to the exterior of the refrigerator and the handle be fixed to the free end thereof, so that the handle may be operated-without opening the refrigerator door.

I claim:

1. The combination with a refrigerator, of mechanism for carrying individual masses of water, into the freezing zone of the refrigerator, comprising two -endless conveyors adapted to travel in opposite directions with two of their runs in proximity, driving mechanism for said conveyors, cups of resilient material arranged in horizontal alignment on the two conveyors, a water tank within which the lower por- 2..'I'he combination with a refrigerator, of'

mechanism for carrying individual masses of water, into the freezing zone of the refrigerator, comprising two endless conveyors adapted to travel in -opposite directions with two of their ,runsin proximity, driving mechanism for said conveyors, cups of resilient material arranged in horizontal alignment on the two conveyors, a water tank within which the lower portions of said conveyorsv travel and within which the cups become filled, and means for partially compressing said cups as they are brought into alignment within said tank to create a partial vacuum within the space confined by the joined cups to cause such cups to be held in water-tight engagement by the pressure of the external atmosphere.

Zi. The combination as set forth in claim 2, including hook members arranged adjacent to the path of the conveyors so as to engage the frozen masses of ice and eject them from the cups.

4. The combination as set forthin claim 2, including mechanism for discharging the frozen masses of ice from the conveyors.

5. The combination as set forth in claim 2 including ejector mechanism arranged adjacent to the path of the conveyors for discharging the frozen masses of ice tferefrom, a chute for receiving the ejected ice masses, and a hopper at the end of the chute for collecting said masses.

6. 'Ihe combination as set forth in. claim 2 wherein the cups are made of rubber and have thickened upper edges along which the cups on the conveyors engage each other.

7. The combination as set forth in claim 2 wherein the cups are made of rubber an; have thickened upper edges along which the cups on the conveyors engage each other, said thickened edges being provided with semi-annular recesses, the recesses of two joined cups forming a toruslike chamber which is adapted to be compressed as the cups are brought into alignment.

8. The combination as set forth in claim 1 wherein the conveyors are composed of webs of rubber and wherein the cups are likewise of rubber and are connected to said webs.

9. 'I'he combination as set forth in claim 2 wherein said driving mechanism comprises a ratchet wheel associated with one of the conveyors, a reciprocating lever and pawl mechanism for intermittently rotating such ratchet wheel, and gearing connecting the two conveyors tovcause them to travel in opposite directions.

10. A mold for use in freezing individual masses of water in a household refrigerator comprising two hollow, substantially semi-spherical mold sections made of resilient material, said mold sections adapted to be joined together under water with their edges in engagement and to be depressed at their opposite ends to create a partial vacuum in the interior thereof which causes the external atmosphere to hold the two halves in water-tight relation.

l1. 'I'he combination with a refrigerator, of apparatus for freezing masses of water in the refrigerator, comprising a plurality of molds each consisting of two hollow substantially semispherical sections made of resilient material, said acca-.75s.

water with their edges in engagement and to be depressed at their opposite ends to create a partial vacuum in the interior .thereof which causes the external atmosphere to hold the two halves in water-tight relation.

- 12. A mold for use in freezing individual masses of water in a refrigerator, comprising two hollow substantially senil-spherical sections of resilient material, the edges of said sections being thickened and provided with an annular recess. the recesses of the two sections being adapted to be brought into alignment as the sections are fitted against each other to produce a torus-like chamber, said thickened ends being adapted to be pinched as the mold is illled under water and the sections thereof brought into engagement, whereuponfon removal of the mold from the water and release of the edges thereof, a partial vacuum is created in said torus-like chamber which enables the external atmosphere to hold the sections of the mold in water-tight connection.

13. In a refrigerator, an endless conveyor mechanism having cups thereon for conveying individual masses of water within the freezing zone of the refrigerator, a Water supply tank through which the conveyoris movable for refilling the cups, a layer of insulating material for protecting the contents of the tank against freezing and extending between the runs of the conveyor, and a device for ejecting the frozen masses of ice from said cups.

14. In a refrigerator, an endless conveyor supported adjacent to the rei'rigeratlng coils of the refrigerator, cups on said conveyor for holding individual masses of water and exposing them to the freezing effect of said refrigerating coils, mechanism foroperating said conveyor, a. water supply tank through which the conveyor is movable for refilling the cups, and a layer of insulating material covering the tank for protecting the contents of the tank against freezing, said insulating layer extending between the runs of the conveyor and being apertured to provide passage 'for the cups therethrough.

15. [The combination witha refrigerator and the cooling coil thereof, of conveyor mechanism for carrying individual masses of water within the freezing zone of the cooling coil, said conveyor being provided with receptacles for receiving said masses of water, means for driving said conveyor, ejecting mechanism for releasing the frozen masses of ice from the conveyor receptacles, and comprising a member engaging the frozen masses from below as said masses travel toward said member, and a chute for receiving the `ejected masses of ice.

16. In a refrigerator, a pair of endless conveyors adapted to travel in opposite directions with two of their runs in proximity, the upper portions of the conveyors traveling through the freezing zone of the refrigerator, driving mechanism for said conveyors, cups of resilient material arranged in horizontal alignment on the two conveyors, a water tank within which the lower portions of said conveyors travel and within which the cups become filled, and hook members adjacent to the indperative runs of the conveyors and acting to said chutes lead.

BALTHAZAR H. THEO. MULCH. 

